Hey guys, so I was recently accepted by both UCLA and Berkeley as a transfer student for fall 2017. I had my eyes set on UCLA, and had never even considered going to Cal (I didn’t think I had any chance of getting in.) Now that I’ve been accepted to both, the choice has been insanely difficult. I was wondering if anyone had any insight that could help me make a decision!
Pros of UCLA:
- Close to home ( Less than 50 mins away - I live in the suburbs )
- Student body seems happy/vibrant atmosphere
- Gorgeous campus
Pros of Berkeley:
- New environment (Bay area) seems like a great experience and a fun one.
- Great Political Science program
- Highly regarded school with prestige that competes with Ivies internationally
As for the cons of UCLA, I don’t see very many, but it just seems like a safe choice. The fact that Berkeley is more well known with a better poli sci program makes me inclined to pick Cal. However, I keep hearing from students at Cal that the atmosphere is definitely gloomier than UCLA as far as happiness level of the student body goes. I’m going to be visiting in a few weeks, so I’m hoping that’ll help make my decision. I’m worried about Cal’s reputation for being an extremely stressful environment in where students are cut throat - leading to what seems like an unbalanced college experience, compared to UCLA seeming more well rounded. Anyways, I’d appreciate any advice/insight from you guys! Thank you
You should visit to feel the vibe and see which school is a better fit. Are you an instate student?
Yes, I live about an hour from L.A
Ha my bad. Didn’t see the 50 min away part.
Would you still be dorm at UCLA? My personal take is maybe you should venture out of your comfort zone and go to Berkeley. In the end, it is all about fit and if you feel that Berkeley is too intense, go to UCLA
I’m going to be dorming at either
if i wanted to work in politics i would be wary about going to a school that is known as being the most liberal school/city in the world. im a democrat but even so i wouldn’t want people running against me to try to frame me as socialist/commie and all the other negatives. or of calling me out as “too extreme” in my politics just because of my education.
obviously just because you go there doesn’t mean you /are/ extremely liberal or socialist ect. but people might stereotype you as such
and obviously this is a very artificial shallow thing to be concerned with, there are much more important variables to consider when deciding a school lol
edit: oh and im talking about berkeley if it wasn’t obvious lol
I’m in the EXACT same position. It’s been a really touch choice, but I’m leaning Cal.
Why did you believe that Cal wouldn’t have accepted when you applied to both? Did you believe that Cal was leaps and bounds ahead of UCLA? I’m just curious.
Different rankings show UCLA and Cal flip-flop in rankings for political science. More people are applying to UCLA because they see UCLA as an equal to Cal but with the perks of being located in Los Angeles. UCLA is continuously ranked in the top 3 as “Dream Schools” for many students. As more people apply to UCLA this means the acceptance rate will continue to drop and prestige will continue to grow. I believe this time around, about 22k transfers applied to UCLA and about 18k to Cal.
You must pick the school that fits you best, what exactly are you looking for, your needs and wants. For some people, the weather will come into play, the lifestyle on campus and off it, the city the university is located.
Best of luck, and please let us know which school you ended up picking.
I’m deciding between UCSD and UCLA for PoliSci, leaning on UCSD. I was accepted at Cal, but will not be attending because nothing beats SoCal living - though I’m happy to have it as an option! It’s kind of funny, every time I see anything Berkeley related on Facebook, I see nothing but people talking crap about it. Not that that’s the reason I chose not to go. But it just illustrates how divisive Cal’s reputation is. Some people think it’s great, others will laugh at you because they’re convinced it’s a communist indoctrination center and that everyone there hates America.
So yeah, it’s prestigious for academics and liberals. But just keep in mind half the country wouldn’t mind seeing the place burn to the ground. Crazy what politics can do to a school’s reputation ain’t it? UCLA has all the prestige and perks, without the added baggage. I say UCLA. But it really comes down to your personality and where you fit in at each school. UCLA has been the more popular school for quite some time; it received 20,000 more applications than Cal and UCSD.
If you want to go into law or politics, no one will give a shit where the political science program at your Uni was ranked. Believe me. So, don’t choose based on “prestige,” because that concept is very subjective. The perk “Highly regarded school with prestige that competes with Ivies internationally” could easily be applied to UCLA as well. And even UCSD seems to be heading in that direction. So, it really boils down to where you think you’ll fit in best. Choose the school where you’ll be happiest, because no matter where you go, it’ll be a challenge. Best of luck.